DeForest Buckner equates pass rushing to playing chess. The ideas are similar. Pass rushing is a course in patience, deception, and attack. Timing is key.
Buckner’s practice is more complex. His opponent in a given game frequently changes. His status as the 49ers’ indubitable top pass rusher means he regularly moves around, lining up in different spots, against different opposition. He must know the tendencies and techniques of every center, guard, or offensive tackle across from him. He must compartmentalize his arsenal of moves with that backdrop of knowledge to give him the best chance at reaching the quarterback.
At 6-foot-7, 300 pounds, Buckner uses his overwhelming strength to wear down his opponent. He relies on a couple power moves in doing so: the “bull rush” (using two hands to drive the defender backwards) and “double-hand swipe” (swiping the defender’s hands and ripping through). He says he likes to forklift the opposing lineman’s arms to disrupt his balance.
Buckner’s go-to move is the one you’ve likely seen on the majority of his 12 sacks this season: the “chop swim.”
“Honestly it’s kind of my go-to, a little changeup throughout the game,” Buckner told KNBR at his locker Thursday. “You’re setting your moves up for later on in the game.”
Many of Buckner’s sacks have come in crunch time. He points to San Francisco’s 33-30 loss at Green Bay in Week 6 as an example. The third-year defensive tackle had not hit his chop swim (chopping the lineman’s shoulder and reaching over with your other arm) all game. When the Packers regained possession in the final minute, the score tied, Buckner sensed it was time.
On third-and-15, Buckner used his go-to move, manhandling guard Lane Taylor before sacking quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
The sack was nullified because Richard Sherman was flagged for illegal contact, which gave the Packers the first down. Five plays later, they won on a game-winning field goal.
“I beat the dude pretty clean,” Buckner said. “Unfortunately, there was a penalty.”
Other time, Buckner uses the move until his opponent proves he can stop it. It’s a feel thing, Buckner says.
That was the case in Week 2. Buckner overwhelmed Lions left guard Joe Dahl with his “chop swim.”
“The Detroit game, their left guard was a two-hand puncher,” Buckner said. “I beat him I don’t know how many times with it. He couldn’t stop it, so I kept doing it.”
Buckner relied on the move with the game winding down. With the 49ers leading by 10 points, and four minutes remaining, Buckner nearly had a sack after tossing Dahl aside.
Two plays later, Buckner sacked quarterback Matthew Stafford using a similar move.
Buckner has consistently reached the quarterback a tad quicker in his third NFL season. That has led to major results. Last year, he led all NFL interior defensive linemen with 19 quarterback hits, but he had just three sacks.
Back in February, the 49ers hired Chris Kiffin as a pass rush specialist, a newfound position dedicated to fortifying the San Francisco pass rush. When he started visiting the Santa Clara facilities, he encountered the star defensive tackle on a daily basis— eating breakfast, lifting weights, and working on technique— despite being a couple months removed from the 2017 season.
“When I first got here, 99 percent of the roster wasn’t back that time of the year,” Kiffin said in June. “I think at a young age, he is already the ultimate pro, which is really going to catapult him into doing big things.”
Buckner worked on getting off the line faster and disengaging blockers with his hands. He focused on turning those quarterback hits into game-changing plays.
“The number of sacks wasn’t matching up,” defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said Thursday. “We talked about him needing to find that extra half-a-step. That was what he was missing.”
Prior to the season, Buckner outlined a personal goal: double-digit sacks. He achieved that last Sunday.
San Francisco’s 26-23 overtime win over Seattle in Week 15 encapsulated Buckner’s dominance in his third season. Statistically, it was the best game of his professional career. He compiled 11 tackles, four for a loss, two sacks, and three quarterback hits.
The 49ers had played the Seahawks two weeks prior, and Buckner took over that game, too. He had two sacks and seven total tackles. He consistently found pay dirt when matching up with Seahawks left guard J.R. Sweezy, who, according to Pro Football Focus grading, is the seventh-worst guard in the NFL this season.
In the 49ers’ 43-16 loss in Week 13, one of Buckner’s two sacks came against Sweezy. Buckner tossed Sweezy aside and chopped Russell Wilson’s feet.
The 6-foot-7 defensive tackle indicated Sweezy likes to allow opposing linemen to dig into his chest. That enabled Buckner’s bull rush, as we saw two weeks later.
On second-and-9, in Week 15, Buckner overwhelmed Sweezy by plowing him backwards. He was penalized for holding Buckner, and the Seahawks later punted.
Prior to the season, Saleh said he planned to periodically move Buckner on the edge on passing downs, as a way of giving him as many one-on-ones as possible. That has happened occasionally. Saleh has also done the opposite, deploying Buckner as a 0-technique (lining up directly across the center) to allow the 49ers to attack with nimbler pass rushers across the board.
On third-and-8, Buckner, lining up as a 0-technique, nearly reached Wilson after overcoming two blockers. Buckner said he knew he could use the “swim move” in those tight quarters. Wilson made a tough throw for the first down.
Buckner has been equally effective in the run game. He has improved at disengaging blocking, one of his areas of emphasis in the offseason, as seen in the below play.
Buckner waited for the right opportunity to use his “chop swim” move in the recent win. He was consistently double-teamed in the first half. On Seattle’s opening possession in the second half, however, Buckner had a one-on-one with right guard Jordan Simmons.
Just before the snap, Buckner kept an eye on Sweezy tapping center Justin Britt to relay Wilson’s imminent snap. Offensive guards do this in loud road environments. Buckner then burst off the line, used his favorite move to dispose Simmons, and sacked Wilson for nine yards. Two plays later, the Seahawks punted.
“When I know I am getting a one-on-one, and I know he is going to set wide on me, especially a guy that punches,” Buckner says, “I haven’t hit it all game. He isn’t expecting it. I will pull that out of my back pocket.”
It didn’t matter whom the Seahawks lined up across Buckner. In the fourth quarter, as the Seahawks had moved the ball to the 49ers’ one-yard line, Buckner beat guard Germain Ifedi and stopped running back Chris Carson for a loss of one yard. Buckner’s breakout season includes a career-best six run stuffs.
From start to finish, last Sunday featured a dominant performance in a season full of them from Buckner.
Surprisingly, that may not end in a Pro Bowl appearance.
Buckner was named as an alternate for the 2019 Pro Bowl, meaning he could still play in the game if one of the three interior defensive linemen ahead of him chooses not to participate or plays in the Super Bowl. Reigning Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald (16.5 sacks, 48 tackles, and 20 for loss) was an easy selection. The other two inclusions, Philadelphia’s Fletcher Cox (7.5 sacks, 41 tackles, and nine for a loss) and Chicago’s Akiem Hicks (6 sacks, 41 tackles, and 11 for a loss), are veterans with name recognition. Neither player has matched Buckner’s production (12 sacks, 60 tackles, 16 for a loss, and 19 quarterback hits) through 14 games.
“The recognition would be cool, but it is what it is,” Buckner said Thursday. “It’s out of my hands.”
Buckner’s future is likely filled with multiple Pro Bowls, should he continue on his promising path.
“Once you get your foot in the door and you’re in, you’re in,” Buckner said. “They got me as an alternate. At least they know my name.
Now I got to make them remember it, right?”